BERLIN (Reuters) - Most condoms contain a cancer-causing chemical and their manufacture should be subject to greater quality control, a German scientific research institute said Friday.

The Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Institute in Stuttgart, Germany, said it found the carcinogen N-Nitrosamine present in 29 of 32 types of condoms it tested in simulated conditions.

"N-Nitrosamine is one of the most carcinogenic substances," the study's authors said. "There is a pressing need for manufacturers to tackle this problem."

The carcinogen is thought to be present in a substance used to improve condom elasticity. When the rubber material comes in contact with human bodily fluids, it can release traces of N-Nitrosamine, the study said.

Local government officials said condom users should not stop using rubber contraceptives based on results of the study because N-Nitrosamine does not present an immediate health danger.

But Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment said that daily condom use exposed users to N-Nitrosamine levels up to three times higher than levels naturally present in food.

[end of Reuters article]

Yesterday, I got an email from Chuck Tarver discussing the way the AIDS Service Organizations and "safer sex educators" would rather push condoms than talk about Frot and other non-anal, natural, alternatives, and the way gay men would rather do anal and use condoms (sometimes) than change their behavior, and Chuck observed that in our society, we tend to look for technological fixes:

A device -- like condoms -- or a pill -- like PEP.

Instead of modifying our lives in ways which would actually be more fulfilling.

Of course, most of the time technology is grand, but if you think about it, when it comes to sex, aren't skin and spit superior to latex and lube?

Remember, I'm not talking barebacking, I'm talking Frot.

And that's all you need for Frot -- skin and spit.

As some of you may recall, XO man wanted to use our site to sell a totally unnecessary and indeed useless lube, which he alleged was a microbicide even though it was NOT FDA-approved.

I said to him -- you don't need that with Frot.

And pointed out to him that the last microbicide hawked in the gay male community -- non-oxynol-9 -- turned out to be very dangerous.

He let loose with one of his pseudo-lawyerly tirades.

But this putative microbicide was just another one of his dopey scams.

If you're doing something "sexual" that requires carcinogenic condoms and lethal lubes and trips to the doctor and advice from so-called lawyers and "safer-sex educators" -- what you're doing is unnatural and dangerous and you should stop.

Sex should not be about doctors and lawyers and condoms and lube and drugs either licit or illicit.